When does 32 x 32 x 32 equal 838.4 and 490,000? What are seven sevens? How far can a man run in 24 hours if he starts at 6.45pm on Friday? Is 5 in Cookstown equal to 5 in Ards or Carlingford? Sounds like questions from a GCSE mathematics paper or quotations from the Book of Numbers.  But in fact they're just some of the statistics thrown up by some of the events in the running world over the past week.

I travelled to Mullingar on Monday for the final leg of the 32 Marathons in 32 Days in each of the 32 Counties of Ireland when Gerry Duffy and Ken Whitelaw completed their remarkable feat in their home town to tumultuous and emotional applause from what seemed like half the country. In the course of their historic run they ran a total of 838.4 miles each and raised what was announced on the day as 490,000 euros for Autism charities in the North and South, a figure now confirmed as well over half a million. Gerry waited until marathon number 29 to set a new personal best time for the distance, recording 3 hours 17 minutes in Meath, knocking 5 minutes of his previous mark. By any standards these was phenomenal performances, worthy of the highest praise and whether you think it's madness or not, they demand the deepest respect. It was noticeable too that Gerry ran the final race in the Down colours!

On Friday runners were left virtually without a leg to stand on as the calendar threw up 5 Mile races in Cookstown and Newtownards and a 5K in Carlingford. Several of us headed to Ards, me for the first time in about 20 years, where Stephen Shannon continued his comeback with an impressive 31.18 over the demanding circuit but I was unable to match old rival Fred Strickland in the Vets category, clocking 37.08 to his 36.44.  Murlough's Donna McCusker continues to impress with 4th place in the Ladies section in a time of 35.23 while 3 of my daughters ducked under the 50 minute barrier.

Liam Keenan meantime made his now annual trip to Carlingford for the high quality 5K road race and recorded 18.33 to denote his wellbeing after his marathon effort of the previous week.

While we were thus engaged an intrepid band of 18 men and women had already begun their participation in the first ever 24 hour race to be held in Ireland.  Starting at 6.45 on Friday evening the basic concept is not how fast but how far can you travel in 24 hours, with individuals free to run, walk or crawl, and take time out for food, massage and rest as they see fit. Everyone has their own strategy but for most it involved running slowly and conserving energy.  For logistical reasons the event was held at Mary Peters track with a small encampment around the finish line where laps were recorded by electronic timing devices and a manual system was provided as back up.
A table containing food, fruit and drinks was also sited alongside the track and with each competitor having  a small tent pitched in the infield, the area resembled an army settlement.

The runners began in an anti clockwise direction but to prevent boredom they turned after 4 hours and ran the opposite way and so on every 4 hours until the end.

I spent some time there on Friday night after my exertions in Ards and when I left at 4.00am on Saturday the runners still had 15 hours to go! Many had by that stage gone in for the first of several massages to tired and aching limbs before resuming, some faster, some slower but all intent on lasting the time.  I noticed that the only part of their bodies which wasn't massaged at any time was the head, perhaps the one that outsiders might think was the one that needed most attention! Meanwhile I slept at home, rose and had breakfast, spent some time reading the papers, went to Newcastle and watched the amazing Red Arrows and  Micheal Degan, Gavin Oakes and Anna McCoy spent part of their Saturday in the Mournes, completing the very tough 19 miles of the Seven Sevens Mountain  Race.  When I returned to the Mary Peters Track to watch the finish incredibly all the participants were still moving, some slower but one or two faster than the previous night.

The winner was Fermanagh's Thomas Maguire who ran 127.43 miles, which is 509 and a bit laps, 9 miles ahead of second placed Eddie Gallen and the indomitable Fred Hammond in 3rd on 110.93 miles. First lady was Everest conqueror Lynne Hanna, 363 and a bit laps for 90.77 miles.
But undoubtedly the star of the night (and day) has to be the lovely Iryna Kennedy from the Spa, who entered almost by accident and who's smile lit up the darkness as she made her way serenely round and round the track. Nor was that smile diminished as she made more pit stops than Arthur Scargill or indeed as she picked up her pace the longer the day wore on. As the final few minutes approached she was on the same lap as the 2nd placed lady, Mayo's Fionn O'Mara. As the hooter sounded to signal the end she was a mere 35 yards behind – yes after 24 hours and 338 completed laps there was only a stone's throw in it. 
So well done to all who had the courage to take on this challenge and to Ed Smyth and his crew for a superbly organised event – the signs are that more could be tempted to take part next year.

There's a rumour that the inside lane at MPT is now 2 inches lower than it was on Friday evening, small wonder after enduring 6440 laps.  But enough of these numbers, I'm off to study advanced mathematics, it seems like a much easier option.
 
Meantime though there's the Darragh Cross 6 Mile Race and Fun Run on Saturday 21st and the Killyleagh 5 Mile race on Friday 27th to look forward to locally.


Joe Quinn
9 August 2010.